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Jamaat-e-Islami (Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی, lit. 'Society of Islam') is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author, theorist, and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood.[3] It is considered one of the most influential Islamist organisations,[4] and was the first to develop an ideology based on the modern revolutionary conception of Islam.[5] Its founding branch in Pakistan is the nation's largest fundamentalist party.[6]
 |
| جماعتِ اسلامی | |
 Jamaat-e-Islami in Arabic calligraphy | |
| Successor | JI Hind JI Pakistan JI Bangladesh JI Kashmir JI Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | Syed Abul Ala Maududi |
| Founded at | Islamia Park, Lahore, Punjab, British India |
| Purpose | Pan-Islamism Religious conservatism Islamic revivalism Islamic fundamentalism Shi'a–Sunni unity Anti-communism Anti-zionism Anti-Imperialism[1][2] Anti-western[2] |
| Affiliations | Muslim Brotherhood[2] |
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded to spread Islamic values across the Indian subcontinent and advocate for an Islamic political system. It was formed on 26 August 1941 in Lahore under the leadership of Maududi, who believed that contemporary political ideologies resulted from Western imperialism, and that it was necessary to implement Sharia law to preserve Muslim culture.[7] Maududi believed politics was "an integral, inseparable part of the Islamic faith," and that Islamic ideology and non-Islamic ideologies (such as capitalism and socialism, liberalism or secularism) were mutually exclusive. He saw the creation of an Islamic state as both act of piety, and a cure for social and economic problems faced by Muslims, which he attributed to Western influence.[8][9]
Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan and actively worked to prevent it.[10] After the partition of India, the organisation spearheaded the movement to transform Pakistan from a Muslim homeland into an Islamic state. Madudi's efforts focused on transforming to a "theo-democracy" based on the Sharia which would enforce things like abolition of interest-bearing banks, sexual separation, veiling of women, hadud penalties for theft, adultery, and other crimes.[11] Jamaat seeks to spur an Islamic revival, implementing Islam as a universal religion.[12][13]
Jamaat-e-Islami is banned in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India[14] and has historically faced bans in Bangladesh, most recently in 2024.[15] Since 2003, the organization is designated as terrorist by Russia.[16]
Founding and opposition to partition
Maududi opposed British rule but also opposed both the anti-colonialist Muslim nationalist Muslim League's proposal for a separate Muslim state led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the composite nationalism (muttahida qaumiyyat) idea of Jam'iyyat al-Ulama-ye Hind and Deobandi scholar Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madani for a united independent India with separate institutional structures for Hindus and Muslims.[17]
In 1940, the Muslim League met in Lahore and passed the Lahore Resolution, calling for autonomous states in the Muslim-majority areas of India. Maududi believed that Islam is a universal religion that calls for a single, globally unified government and therefore nationalism in any form was un-Islamic.[18] In response he launched his own party, Jamaat-e-Islami, founded on 26 August 1941, at Islamia Park, Lahore.[19] Seventy-five people attended the first meeting and became the first 75 members of the movement.
Maududi saw his group as a vanguard of Islamic revolution following the footsteps of early Muslims who gathered in Medina to found the first "Islamic state".[8][9] Members uttered the Shahada, the traditional statement of conversion to Islam, when they joined, implying to some that Jama'ati felt they had been less-than-true Muslims before joining.[20] Jamaat-e-Islami was and is strictly and hierarchically organised in a pyramid-like structure. All supporters work toward the common goal of establishing an ideological Islamic society, particularly through educational and social work, under the leadership of the emir.[21][22] Being a vanguard party, not all supporters could be members, only the elite. Below members were/are "affiliates", and "sympathizers" beneath them. The party leader is called an ameer (commander).[23]
Maududi sought to educate the elite of the Muslim community in the principles of Islam and correct "their erroneous ways of thinking" both because he believed societies were influenced from the top down.[24]
In his view, Muslims were not one religious or communal group among many working to advance their social and economic interests, but a righteous ideological group capable of transforming India into Dar al-Islam.[25] He believed that a government based on the tenets of Islam would be benevolent to its constituents and would avoid falling into tyranny and oppression, unlike the fascist and communist government structures that were gaining popularity at the time.[26][27]
At the time of the Indian independence movement, Maududi and the Jamaat-e-Isami actively worked to oppose the partition of India.[10] Maududi argued that the division of India violated the Islamic doctrine of the ummah and believed that the partition would separate Muslims by a temporal boundary.[10] As such, before the partition of colonial India happened, the Jamaat-e-Islami actively worked to prevent it, as he feared the liberalism of its founders and the British-trained administrators. However, when the partition went ahead, Maududi viewed it as a gradual step to the Islamization of its laws and constitution even though he had earlier condemned the Muslim League for the same approach.[10] Jamaat's Pakistan branch would actively oppose the split between East and West Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh.
During the years before the partition of India, Jamaat-e-Islami stood aloof from the intense political fights of the time in India, concentrating on "training and organising" and refining and strengthening the structure of Jamaat-e-Islami.[28]
After partition
After partition, Maududi settled in Pakistan and the group split into two separate organizations on either side of the border: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.[29] Other groups related to or inspired by Jamaat-e-Islami developed in Bangladesh, Britain, and Afghanistan.
The Pakistani branch of the movement has remained the most prominent, due to both their prominence in electoral politics and repression of the group in other countries.[29] In the 1950s, Jamaat Pakistan launched a militant student wing, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, which successfully gained control of many urban colleges and universities, often through violent tactics. The student wing, which maintained control in many areas until 1988, marked Jamaat's first use of violence.[30]
The group has had a presence in Europe since the 1960s.[31] The Jamaat-e-Islami parties maintain ties internationally with other Muslim groups.[32]
Since 2003, the organization is designated as terrorist by Russia.[16]
- Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, based in Pakistan. In 1947, Jamaat-e-Islami moved its operations to West-Pakistan after Independence.[33]
- Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, based in India. Founded by Jamaat-e-Islami Members who remained in India after 1947 independence.
- Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was formed in 1953 after the pro-plebiscite prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir was arrested by the Indian government.[34]
- Jamaat-e-Islami AJK, in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), established in 1974.[35][36]
- Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, based in Bangladesh, legalized in 1975 under the military regime. Later declared de facto illegal by the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 2018 for abetting the Pakistan Armed Forces perpetrating the genocide in Bangladesh at 1971. The ban was later withdrawn in August 2024.
- Jamiat-e Islami, based in Afghanistan. Founded in 1972 by Burhanuddin Rabbani, it was also said to be inspired by Abul A'la Maududi and the Jamaat-e-Islami party.[32] Predominantly ethnically Tajik, the group was a major player in the "Peshawar Seven" during the jihad against Soviet military in the 1980s.[37]
- Hezbi Islami, also based in Afghanistan, broke away from Jamiat-e Islami in 1975–1976.[38] Led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, its ethnic make-up was overwhelmingly Ghilzai Pashtun. Its less moderate stance won it the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan president Zia ul-Haq) during the resistance against the Soviet military.[37][39][40]
- UK Islamic Mission was founded by members of the East London Mosque in 1962.[41] Also "inspired by the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Pakistan" and the "Islamic revivalist teachings of Abul A'la Maududi and others."[42]
- Supporters of Jamaat-e Islami also have groups in other states.[43] According to The Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism, Jamaat-e-Islami branches have followed Pakistani immigration to South Africa and Mauritius as well as the UK.[44]
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